Preparations for high-level defense waste immobilization at Savannah River Plant
Methods are being developed to immobilize Savannah River Plant (SRP) wastes in high-integrity glass forms. The waste forms will be suitable for storage in an on-site facility or for shipment to an off-site repository. Alkaline wastes produced in SRP separations plants are currently stored in large, carbon-steel tanks. These wastes consist of a water-soluble fraction (salt cake and supernatant liquor) and an insoluble sludge. The water-soluble fraction contains most of the /sup 137/Cs and the insoluble sludge contains most of the /sup 90/Sr, waste actinides, and other fission products. /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs are the most hazardous radionuclides in aged waste. A conceptual solidification process has been developed from laboratory tests with both actual and simulated waste. Engineering design studies are in progress. First, wastes are removed as a slurry from the waste tanks. The sludge is separated from the supernate, and then /sup 137/Cs is removed from the clarified supernate by ion exchange. The resulting decontaminated supernate is evaporated to a salt for bulk storage. In the second part of the process, /sup 137/Cs is mixed with sludge and the mixture is calcined and then solidified in borosilicate glass. Off-gas from the calciner and glass melter is treated to ensure that no hazardous materials are released to the atmosphere.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-09-0001
- OSTI ID:
- 6716054
- Report Number(s):
- DP-MS-78-36; CONF-780719-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DIAGRAMS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLOWSHEETS
GLASS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OFF-GAS SYSTEMS
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
US AEC
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VITRIFICATION
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES